Ian Botham admits he nearly 'became James Bond' at height of cricketing career
'Beefy' Botham had an illustrious career in sport during the 1980s, but at the pinnacle of his talent on the ground — he revealed he nearly left it all behind for Hollywood
Ian ‘Beefy’ Botham reckons he could have been 007 had he chosen the big screen over cricket. The 70-year-old cricketing legend, who made more than 5,000 test runs and took 383 test wickets, said his name was put forward to be James Bond at the height of his fame in the mid-80s.
The former Question of Sport captain — given a life peerage in 2020 — said his agent Tim Hudson reckoned he should swap cricket to be a Hollywood superstar. He persuaded Beefy to go for a screen test at Universal Studies in LA.
Once there, Hudson introduced him to film producer Menahem Golan, who had worked with Sean Connery, Sly Stallone and Jean-Claude Van Damme. Golan, who died in 2014, told Botham that he ‘had the looks’ to take over from Roger Moore after his final movie, A View to a Kill, in 1985.
He told Botham, who was 29 at the time, that if he wanted a shot at 007 he would have to "stay in LA and have acting lessons for six months". Hudson, in a bid to persuade Botham to ditch an England tour of the West Indies in October 1985, said he would be a ‘superstar’ and would attract millions of cricket fans all over the world.
He told Botham that his screen presence would "attract a million folk in Britain, a million in
England ended up losing the series 5-0, with Botham struggling to perform at his peak. Timothy Dalton ended up getting the job as James Bond, starring as 007 in the 1987 movie The Living Daylights.
Speaking about his chance to be 007, Botham said he ‘chose the West Indies’ rather than try to become a film star. He said: “What’s the point in harping on about anything that happened 40 years ago?
“I seriously can’t be bothered with that. I’ve got grandchildren to think about, friends to see, a daughter in Melbourne. I like the positives.”
It comes after the cricketing legend admitted that he had a brush with death after becoming stranded in crocodile infested waters. He was eventually able to be rescued his quiet fishing trip soon turned to a disaster.
Whilst steadying himself on a boat trip in Australia last year, the sports star ended up falling in headfirst into the water, tripping on his flip-flops in the process. Thankfully, his good pal Merv Hughes — who also competed in cricket for the land Down Under — was able to yank him back to shore before he was targeted.
Speaking on the tense moment, he said: "Crocodile Beefy survived! I was out of the water quicker than I went in it.
"Quite a few sets of eyes were having a peep at me. Luckily I had no time to think about what was in the water."